A domestic helper hanged herself in the bathroom of a residential flat in Coloane on Sunday night, according to a statement by the Judiciary Police (PJ) early yesterday, which quoted the victim’s employer as saying that “she [the victim] suddenly locked herself in the bathroom”.
The Judiciary Police were notified by the Public Security Police (PSP) of the attempted suicide at a residential building on Avenida da Harmonia in Coloane at 7:53 p.m. on Sunday, noting that the victim – a middle-aged non-local woman – was rushed by ambulance to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre for emergency treatment. The victim was pronounced dead at 8:21 p.m. that day.
The PJ statement did not disclose the victim’s nationality.
The victim’s employer was quoted in the statement as saying that the live-in domestic helper began to work for the family last Sunday (July 21) and did not show any abnormal behaviour during her work. However, she added, the victim suddenly locked herself in the bathroom at about 7 p.m. on Sunday, and after she had repeatedly asked her to open the door, but getting no response, she forced open the door and found that the domestic helper had hanged herself.
According to the statement, a preliminary examination of the body by the Judiciary Police determined that the injuries found were consistent with those caused by the hanging by the neck. Other than that, no other injuries of a criminal nature were found on the body.
The case has been preliminarily classified as a dead-body-found, while the exact cause of death has yet to be determined by a forensic examination, the statement noted.
People contemplating suicide, or those suspecting that a person is at risk of suicide, may phone Caritas Macau’s Life Hope Hotline on 2852 5222 for Chinese and 2852 5777 for English or the Social Welfare Bureau’s (IAS) 24-hour Counselling Hotline on 2826 1126.
This poster from the Caritas Macau website shows its Expat Life Hope Hotline 2852 5777 for Macau’s foreign communities.
